Midnight in Montgomery
by HaveAHeart0301
Summary: When the blame for Kieran's murder is put on Oscar, the man is shocked. More chaos ensues when he is thrown into prison. Based off the Alan Jackson song. Implied Elincia/Geoffrey, Astrid/Makalov, and Lucia/Soren. Chapter Two: The Murderer's Perspective.
1. Chapter 1

**Midnight in Montgomery**

_A/N: This is based off the song Midnight in Montgomery by Alan Jackson. I got the idea from listening to the song all day… Well, I guess the only other thing I have to say is that this is told from Oscar's point of view._

_--_

I stood in front of a large oak door belonging to a small wooden cottage on the outskirts of Melior. Close by, my horse whinnied nervously, shaking his mane. I glanced at him for a second and then turned my attention back to the house in front of me.

I had just knocked on the door, and was currently waiting for my friend to answer. You see, after leaving the Royal Knights, Kieran had decided to move out here to become an, err…cowboy, pretty much. The decision had taken us all by surprise, and for months afterward, the whole royal palace laughed over it. _Kieran_ leaving the knights? It was impossible--it had always been his dream.

In fact, the man had always scolded _me_ for leaving the knights at one point. Was one of Crimea's most faithful guards actually going to leave her service to become a mere _cowboy_?

What surprised us more was that he had actually gone through with it. He claimed to be tired of all the fame he received, but I knew better. His heart had been broken, and he couldn't stand to see her face anymore. The way Marcia treated him was despicable, and I made a point to tell her that too. She only shrugged it off and went on with her duties.

I released the grip I had placed on my hat as the wind slowly died down. I then rapped at the door once more, but upon receiving no reply, I turned around.

The sight I was faced with next surprised me greatly. Standing behind me was Kieran, cowboy hat and all. I could smell the alcohol on his breath as he spoke to me, his haunted eyes glowing.

"Friend it's good to see you, it's nice to know you care."

I grabbed my hat once again as the wind suddenly picked up. I blinked and then he was gone. That was strange…was he actually there in the first place?

I looked around the place, but there was no sign of him. My horse neighed loudly and looked up at the star-filled violet sky. I shook my head. This all had to be my imagination…

I remounted my horse and took his reins in my hands. If I hurried, I would still be able to catch that show in Melior--my whole reason for coming out here. As I urged my horse forward, I could almost swear that I saw some type of shadow out of the corner of my eye. I laughed to myself nervously. My mind was definitely playing tricks on me now.

--

It was the next morning when we heard the news. The commander of the Royal Knights, his sister, the lady Astrid, her husband, and I all sat in a small room off one of Castle Crimea's main halls. Lucia and Astrid chatted quietly while Makalov laughed at something Geoffrey was saying. Typical, the man was now always trying to get on the commander's good side.

I just sat there not speaking to anyone. Instead, I occupied my time by staring at the freshly painted white walls. It was recently that the queen had tired of the plain brick that made up the walls on her castle. She had ordered the knights, including her husband, to redecorate--a task which Geoffrey didn't really favor. Had it not been for pleasing his wife, he would have ignored the order and left things as is.

We spent the whole day spreading the paint over the walls. Duke Renning was quite upset that all of the castle's guards were completing what he considered to be a petty task, rather than protecting the queen.

I was startled when I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder. I looked up to notice the Lady Lucia glancing at me with concern in her eyes. Astrid had now joined in the men's conversation and was laughing along with Makalov.

"Sir Oscar, is something wrong?"

Her blue orbs chilled me to the bone.

"No, Milady, it's nothing."

She opened her mouth to speak again, but at that point Duke Renning rushed in. We all looked up at him, noting his worried expression. He leaned against the doorway and nodded to us, still attempting to catch his breath. Geoffrey raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Milord, is something the matter?"

"Yes, Geoffrey. You must all come quickly. Kieran…he's dead."

The women gasped as we all jumped out of our seats. Astrid glanced at us, fear in her eyes.

"How could this happen? Why would…"

The woman looked as if she would faint, making everyone give her worried looks. Renning placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Lady Astrid, if you wish to not join us, you could remain here with the queen."

"Thank you, sir."

The former prince then looked at Lucia.

"Lucia, you may remain here as well."

"Milord, I do believe I will be fine. You act as if I've never seen someone that has died before."

I chuckled. She wouldn't remain here if her life depended on it--especially not with the _men _telling_ her _what she should and shouldn't do. I suppose that was one thing that set her apart from other women, the noble ladies especially.

The laugh I had just released caused many suspicious looks to be given to me, but I merely shrugged them off. I surely wasn't about to tell them of my thoughts of Lucia; if her husband found out, I would surely be fried.

--

"He's definitely dead," the raven-haired sage stated as he checked for Kieran's pulse.

Nearby, Renning, Geoffrey, and I stood. The others had disappeared to look for anything suspicious. Lucia returned shortly, pulling Makalov along with her. Soren glanced at his wife.

"Did you find anything?"

"Aside from some footprints in the dirt, no. Well, that and a certain someone attempting to _steal_ from Kieran's home…" The azure-haired swordswoman looked at the man she currently held by the shirt, an annoyed expression on her features.

Inwardly, I laughed. Makalov was surely never going to hear the end of this…

"He's dead…he doesn't need any of this!" the sword-knight exclaimed.

The woman grabbed the man's ear and glared at him.

"You aren't supposed to steal from the dead…especially not when you're supposed to be an honorable knight. What would Astrid think of this?"

"Well…I…umm…"

"Okay, Lucia, that's enough."

Her brother took Makalov from her care and glared at him himself. The man was sure to get a good lecture from the commander when we got back to the castle. Soren cleared his throat, pulling us all back into the reality of what had just happened.

"While we all know that Makalov is a no-good drunk, shouldn't we be focusing on more important matters…like the reason we're here? You know, Kieran's death…"

"Yes, of course. So, what can you make of it?"

"Well, Duke Renning…it seems that he's been murdered. Yes, I'm quite certain of that actually."

Everyone stared at him in shock. No one spoke for the longest time, but finally Lucia commented on what her spouse had said.

"Murdered? I thought you had said he was just in an accident from drinking…"

"That was the original thought, but as I examined the body, I noticed a small stab wound on his chest. It was done so carefully that it had been overlooked at first. It couldn't have been done in a bar fight or anything, it's much too professional looking. It's possible that one of our own knights could have done it."

Geoffrey glanced at his troops that were on sight. He cleared his throat and began his long speech.

"If you believe that that is the case, I will surely investigate to see whether or not any of my troops were around here. If it is found that one of them did commit this crime, they will surely be punished. To think that one of them would actually murder our former second-in-command…it's tragic."

"It's only a thought…really, anyone will some skill could have done this. I do appreciate your concern though. Lucia and I will be sure to keep a look out for anything suspicious, right Lucia?"

Her husband stared at her, but the woman only looked towards the ground on which I stood. Soren waved his hand before her face and she seemed to snap back into reality. She then turned to me.

"Oscar, where were you before you showed up at the show in Melior last night?"

I was shocked by her question.

"I stopped by here to see Kieran, Milady. He wasn't home though. I suppose now I know why…"

Soren noted my comment.

"His body was found in front of the cottage. If you were here, you would have had to see it."

"N-no, it wasn't…" I trailed off.

"Oscar, he's been dead for at least a couple of days. The body had to have been here the whole time--I can't imagine the killer risking coming back out here to move it, especially not out in the open like this."

Lucia then looked at me.

"So is this why you've been acting oddly all day?"

"N-no, Milady. I-I had no idea…"

"If that is so, why are you so skittish now?"

"I-I…it…"

Renning stepped up behind me.

"Oscar, I'm afraid that we'll have to take you into custody."

He then placed my hands behind my back and took out the handcuffs that were formerly clipped to his belt loop. I didn't understand any of this. Could they honestly believe that I was the one to murder Kieran?

--

I couldn't believe any of this. They had actually found me guilty of murder… I hadn't done anything, but my attempts to clear my name did nothing to help me. They believed that they had all the evidence that they needed. I had been at the murder site _after_ the crime had been committed.

Somehow I had managed to get a sentence of life in prison rather than death. Though I must say, it honestly wasn't much better. The whole entire day I was confined to this small cell, with no light except for that which was provided by a small window in the corner of the cell.

During the day there was no point in looking out of this window; there was nothing to see. However, tonight, like every other night I spent here, I stared out the window. The darkness seemed to have a calming effect on me, so I honestly couldn't complain. Tonight a full moon shone brightly above while stars outlined the purple sky. I guessed that it was around midnight.

As I stood looking out at the landscape, I felt as though I could hear the clopping of horse's hooves. That couldn't be right… But as much as I tried to deny it, the louder the noises became. In the distance, I could make out small figures. As those figures came closer, I realized that they were actually stray horses. So I was right, but that was odd…why would they just be stray horses?

Then, another figure appeared. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw Kieran standing there. In his hand, he held his cowboy hat as he twirled a lasso in the cool night air. He winked at me before the wind picked up and he once again disappeared.

I stood there in amazement. Honestly, I didn't know whether or not any of that had actually happened. I could now hear multiple dogs howling somewhere off in the distance. I shook my head; I was hallucinating.

But no matter what, I couldn't get his image out of my head. I imagined his cowboy hat, shiny boots, and lasso. The horses were also strange, and if I didn't know better, I'd say that there was the faint smell of whiskey in the air. But the oddest thing of all were his eyes; those haunting eyes pierced my skin. Those eyes…

--

Elsewhere, the sound of laughter could be heard as two wine glasses clinked together. The two beorc whom the laughter belonged to were seated at a small round table covered in a white table cloth. The man grinned and then spoke.

"Well, I'd say we did fairly well, taking out both Kieran and Oscar. Don't you think?"

"We certainly did, Soren. Now we won't have to worry about either of them again." She laughed and then added, "It's amazing how you were able to cover up the evidence so well."

"Hmm…it's almost as if it was magic."

They both laughed cold, chilling laughs.

"We surely did fool everyone, didn't we?"

"Yes, Lucia, I'd say that we did…"

--

_A/N: Well, this was originally supposed to be a Western…didn't really turn out that way. I'm actually fairly pleased with how it turned out, which is a tad surprising. Speaking of surprising, I hope that the end came as a bit of a shock…I tried not to make it too obvious, though I think I did almost give it away at one point. Ah well, review if you actually want me to know what you thought of it…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Midnight in Montgomery**

**Chapter Two**

_A/N: Well, I decided that since I thought of a new idea for this fic, and since it was my favorite I've ever written, that I would add another chapter. I'd like to thank spygirly for being the only one to review the first chapter, as well as giving me some encouragement to write this next part (and for suggesting that Lucia and Soren's motive should have been stated). Well, here's the second chapter, told from Soren's point-of-view._

_--_

It had been nearly five years since Kieran's corpse had been discovered outside of his desert home. While Oscar had been convicted of the murder, I knew he was innocent all along. The real killers were my wife and I. It sounds cruel to say that so matter-of-factly, I know, but I we did have our reasons, I'll assure you. She's not a heartless killer, I can say for sure, and even I'm not as malicious as some would like to believe. Still, we murdered Kieran, and we blamed someone else for it.

I glanced over at my wife, who was cradling our four-year-old daughter in hers arms. The little girl's violet eyes were shut, and it was clear that she had already drifted off into sleep. Lucia, too, looked like she would doze off any minute.

I walked over to where they sat and placed my hand on my wife's shoulder. "Sweetheart, it's getting late; you should get some rest. I'll put Tabatha to bed, all right?" She nodded and I picked the tiny blonde girl up in my arms. Lucia then pecked my cheek and uttered a "goodnight" before we both departed down different paths of the castle.

--

By the time I had finally made it back from putting my daughter to bed, Lucia was already sleeping peacefully on her side of the bed. I removed my shoes and carefully laid down next to her, in hopes of having a restful slumber. Instead, however, as soon as I shut my eyes, my mind was flooded with the memory of the night of the murder.

--

_I had still been listed as a mercenary before that night, as Lucia and I had only been married for a few months. Owners of a couple of the local pubs in the town had all pitched in to hire me to take care of a problem for them--which was Kieran. Apparently, he had enormous tabs at each business, and hadn't paid a coin on any of them. I was only instructed to get the money out of him--how that happened, they didn't quite care, as long as they were paid._

_A few nights before the big show in Melior, I had pulled on my boots and draped my cloak around my shoulders, ready to set out for Kieran's home. My wind tome was in my hands, and a knife in my pocket. As I prepared to leave, Lucia stopped me at the door, sword strapped to her side. She insisted on going with me. Originally I had said that it was too dangerous--after all, she _was_ carrying my child at the time. But she was persistent, saying how she may be able to talk some sense into Kieran and settle things without an argument, so I eventually gave in._

_We mounted my horse, which I had previously saddled and had left waiting outside, and rode off in the direction of the outskirts of Melior. We were completely ready to face Kieran--after all, though he was a bit insane, he was a pretty sensible man. We would do whatever it took to complete the job--we had no intention of killing the former knight, only threatening him a bit if need be._

_--_

_When we arrived, night had already fallen and the only light was that which was provided to us by the stars in the sky. Out in this deserted little community, the stars shone brightly and clearly. The houses weren't as close together as they were in the city, and wild horses roamed the grounds. Lucia clung onto my arm, shivering, as I knocked on the door._

_The door had slowly swung open, revealing Kieran standing there in a cowboy hat and boots. His appearance suggested that he'd been drinking heavily, and his eyes were piercing my skin. Lucia's nails were now actually digging into my skin, which may have been why I had that feeling, so I rubbed her arm, in hopes of relaxing her, while turning to the man. "Kieran, would you mind if we had a word with you?"_

_He gave no oral reply, only motioning with his hand for us to come into his home. After he had stepped back in himself, I turned to my wife. I took her hands in mine, attempting to ignore the pain in my arm. "If you'd like, you can wait out here for me," I whispered._

_She shook her head and replied, "No, I'll be fine. It's just Kieran, after all."_

_I nodded and lead her inside into what became a difficult trap with only one way out, as I saw it..._

_--_

_As we stepped into the house, our eyes were met with a terrible sight. Tables were overturned, bottles lie broken all along the floor boards, mice ran amuck, and the wind crept in from the various holes in the siding. Lucia moved closer to me as we walked, her hands now trembling terribly._

_Kieran was, by now, seated in a chair in the farthest corner of the house. I left my wife where she currently stood and took a few more steps, coming within a few feet of the man._

_"Kieran, we're here to talk with you about the debts you have at some of the town's establishments," I explained as the man fumbled around looking for something, causing a loud racket._

_"Ya are, eh? I'll give ya yer money!" he yelled, getting up and walking past Lucia. We both turned our heads slightly to watch him as he slammed a bedroom door shut. Placing his hand in his pocket, I suspected--at the time--to grab some money, he waltzed back over to where my wife stood._

_He grabbed her wrists, slammed her against a nearby wall, and produced a knife from his pocket, which he held to her neck. "Listen 'ere, lil missy," he screamed through clenched teeth. "I ain't payin' ya nothin'!"_

_"K-Kieran, let her go," I demanded, reaching for my _Wind_ tome. I couldn't allow anything to happen to my wife or child._

_"Make me," he spat, knocking the tome from my hands with his free hand, and turning back to my wife. "Lucia, I don't see how ya could end up with such a lowlife like him. Ya coulda done so much better," he laughed, as she struggled to free herself. "But now...now ya have nothin'!"_

_Gritting my teeth, I reached for the knife I had placed in one of the inside pockets of my robe. If he meant to harm Lucia, then I couldn't just stand here. _You had your chance, Kieran,_ I thought._

_In one clean motion, the former knight fell to the ground. I pulled my dagger from his chest, inspecting his wound. The blade hadn't gone in too deep, but in such a critical location, he didn't have a chance of survival. That's what we sages of the wars had learned from Volke: bring down any unarmored foe in a matter of seconds by striking him or her in just the right spot._

_I cleaned the blade of my weapon on the carpet next to the man and placed it back in its sheath. Standing up, I rushed to my visibly-shaken wife and held her in my arms. "S-Soren," she sobbed._

_I stroked her hair as she cried into my robes, and I whispered, "Shh, Lucia, it's all okay now. You don't have to worry."_

_As we stood there, I considered grabbing the amount of money he owed the pub owners, but decided it would be too risky. They would get their money after the royal knights found Kieran dead, and I couldn't risk giving it to them, no matter the reward, lest I wanted to take the chance of never seeing my child raised._

_After Lucia had calmed down, we remounted our horse and left Kieran's body to be found in the middle of the floor._

_--_

I glanced at my wife sound asleep next to me, and actually envied her slightly. Here I was, a good few hours before the sun came up, and still awake. This happened many a night when I pondered on the subject of Kieran's death too long. The more I thought about it, the more the guilt built, the more the need to keep this a secret showed itself, and the less sleep I was rewarded with.

Still, there is another tale after his death: the tale of how we framed Oscar as the killer.

--

_One late night after those events, I slept soundly as the rain poured down outside my bedroom window. Nightmares from the previous war resurfaced, causing me to toss and turn. As one of my comrades was set on fire, I felt Lucia shaking me._

_"Soren," she whispered as she tried to wake me. "Soren, please, get up."_

_"What is it?" I mumbled, my eyes still closed._

_"I...I've been thinking about the other night," she admitted._

_My eyes snapped open after she said this, and I groaned. "You shouldn't do that. It'll only make you feel--"_

_"Soren! I can't help it! No one's found his body yet, and Geoffrey keeps giving me looks as if he knows I've done something wrong!" she whined._

_"Lucia, first of all, you're imagining it all. Geoffrey doesn't know a thing. Second of all, you didn't do anything wrong. I murdered him, not you," I explained._

_"I know about the murder, don't I? They could just as easily say that I was involved in it."_

_I shut my eyes once again and muttered, "We'll go back there tomorrow and see what we can do. Now please, just go to sleep."_

_"Of course," she whispered as she kissed me lightly on the cheek. "Goodnight, my love."_

_--_

_The next day was the day the big show in Melior was to be held. Maids and servants scurried all around the castle the whole morning and afternoon, preparing for the guests that would come to watch a performance of a play written by Count Bastian himself. Multiple royal guests would be in attendance, from the Empress of Begnion, to the wolf queen of Hatari._

_The actors ranged from some lower members of the royal knights to the royal family of Serenes. All three of the heron siblings would play the role of an angel that would help two wayward lovers, played by Fiona and Leonardo, realize their "burning passion for one another." The other cast included Mist as a priestess, Lyre as a housecat, Shinon as a loudmouthed young rogue trying to capture Fiona, Mia as the nymph of love, and King Caineghis as a lion god, controller of destiny._

_Preparations had been made for months, and the cast had all practiced their parts, to make the count's early birthday gift to the queen play out perfectly. Despite Bastian's pleas for her to play the nymph of love, my wife had refused, and what a good thing--a nymph of love with morning sickness? That wouldn't have turned out well at all._

_Personally, I wanted very little to do with Bastian's plan, and volunteered only to help with the lighting because Lucia begged me. My wife herself was helping with last-minute preparations on costumes. As I stood there pulling on a rope that lowered and lifted a lantern into the air, I couldn't help but envy her job. Sewing designs on some fabric had to be more pleasant that working with the "director" himself._

_"Ah, too high for the first act that is, Soren," Bastian mused as I pulled the rope down a bit. "Now that, that too low must be," he scolded as I allowed some of the cord to slip from my hands, thus lowering the light. "Higher, Soren, the whole room must be able to see the actors!" he exclaimed, following it by similar orders and complaints._

_After at least twenty minutes had gone by, Bastian began clapping his hands. "'Twill do, my friend, 'twill do!" he exclaimed._

_I resisted the urge to slap my forehead and the man himself as I tied the rope to a nearby hook, knowing that the light was at the same exact level it had started at._

_"Anything else you need, Bastian?" I asked, hoping that there wouldn't be._

_"To check on the seamstresses' work, I'm off. Accompany me you shall?" he inquired._

_"Uh...sure," I mumbled, knowing that I'd at least be able to see my wife for a minute or two while Bastian praised her work and told the other seamstresses that they could learn something from her._

_--_

_"Well done, ladies!" the count exclaimed as he bounded into the room. "Milady, your work outshines all the others; do well you all would to learn a thing or two from the Lady Lucia!" the man praised, just as I had predicted._

_As he droned on about what still needed to be done, I walked up behind Lucia and leaned over her chair, placing my hands on her shoulders. "How're you holding up?" I asked after she had pecked me lightly on the cheek._

_"Fine, I suppose," she answered, and then later added, "Though I am glad that I don't have to do anything more than sit here and add details to these costumes."_

_"Consider yourself lucky," I mumbled, resting my head on her back._

_"Aw, sweetie, Bastian hasn't been that hard on you, has he?" She chuckled as she said this._

_"He's only jealous because I have you and he doesn't," I exaggerated as I kissed the back of her neck, probably causing Bastian to glare at me._

_"Soren, quit tormenting Bastian like that," my wife scolded._

_I shrugged. "He deserves it for all that I went through to put up his stupid lights. Besides," I paused, "it's like I said. I have you, and he doesn't," I repeated, finding favor in rubbing that in, whether the count actually heard it or not._

_--_

_Night fell on the Crimean countryside once again, a blanket of violet skies and starry lights draping over the world, as we crept outside of Kieran's home. No one was around, as far as we could tell, and it would be safe to move his body out into the open. Then we could head back to Melior in time for the show._

_"Soren, I think someone's coming," Lucia whispered, coming up behind me._

_I jumped slightly from the shock of her voice, but shortly after grabbed her hand and dragged her into the bushes where we wouldn't be seen. I parted a section of the hedges, allowing me to see the doorstep of the house._

_In a short few seconds, the sound of horse's hooves beat right next to the shrubbery, and the wind suddenly picked up dramatically, blowing sand and dust in every direction. A while later I heard someone dismount. As the man came into my view, I identified him as Oscar. _Perfect, now we'll have someone to blame this on,_ I laughed to myself._

_The green-haired man knocked twice on the door and received no reply. _He's dead, you fool._ The wind slowly died down and another figure appeared. _It can't be..._ But it was. Standing there, a faint glow reflecting off of his body, cowboy hat atop his head, lasso at the ready, whiskey bottle in the other hand, and eyes glowing, was Kieran, or rather, his spirit._

_He whispered a mere few words to Oscar before the wind suddenly picked up and he disappeared as if he hadn't even been there in the first place. The other knight quickly remounted and rushed off towards Melior, probably out of fear._

_I grabbed my wife's arm and pulled her out of the greenery. We both lifted the man out of the house and laid him by the front door, and I smashed an alcohol bottle I had found inside and placed the pieces of glass next to him. "Get the horse ready," I instructed my wife as I pulled a _Tornado_ tome from my pocket._

_With one spell I was able to stir up the sand and dust enough to allow the earth to resettle into its place, and thereby covering our tracks. As we disappeared off into the dust, I heard a faint chuckle behind us. As I turned around, I could see the ghost waving steadily to our retreating figures._

_The events of that night, as well as all that happened afterward, were held in those starry, violet skies, trapped in time and space, and hopefully never to be released._

_--_

We had never been caught, but with that came our sacrificed sanity. My wife became paranoid and untrusting of even me. The night that Oscar had been convicted of murder was the night that I snapped. As I tapped my glass of wine against the glass of water in my wife's hand, I felt a new sense of insanity come over me.

Once our daughter was born, a sense of peacefulness once again enveloped our household. Lucia's happy demeanor returned, as well as my sense of being, and we were able to live normally, with only occasional reminders of our actions on that night. Now, years later, things were beginning to fall into place.

I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around my wife, to drift off into what was supposed to be the most restful sleep I had had in a long while.

--

Somewhere in the middle of the night, I heard the door to our bedroom creak open and allow a ray of light onto the floor. In the doorway stood my daughter, her favorite toy clutched in her arms.

"Daddy, can I sleep in here tonight?" she asked, already climbing into the bed.

"Of course," I answered, pulling her into my arms.

As she closed her eyes, she mumbled, "Good. The glowing man outside my window was starting to scare me."

Then and there, I felt my heart skip a beat and a part of my insanity return. _Kieran..._


End file.
